Brooks Marks and ‘Growing Up Hip Hop: New York’ star Dazyna Drayton on stepping out of their reality TV celeb parents’ shadows

Catch new episodes of “Growing Up Reality With Brooks Marks” every Thursday on In The Know!

Coming of age with your parents on a reality show isn’t always easy, but it can also be fun once you get used to it.

For the latest episode of Growing Up Reality With Brooks Marks, the son of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Meredith Marks sits down with the daughter of former Flavor of Love icon Flavor Flav, Dazyna Drayton. Much like Brooks, who has been a mainstay on RHOSLC during its first two seasons, Drayton has also experienced reality TV from both sides of the equation having starred on Growing Up Hip Hop: New York herself.

Both of them were ultimately able to get accustomed to the cameras and to being recognized because of who their parents are in order to build personal brands of their own.

“Growing up it was like, ‘That’s Flavor Flav’s daughter!’ But [Growing Up Hip Hop] has given me the platform to be myself. There’s not a fake bone in my body. I’m going to be who I am regardless of if you like it,” Drayton said. “I have to feel out the room and feel out the vibes before I can just open up and be who I am. At first I’m a little standoffish, but then 10 or 15 minutes later — I’ve got a big-ass mouth — everyone’s telling me to be quiet. Once I got over those first scene heebie-jeebies and nerves, I was like, ‘All right, when’s the next time we’re filming?'”

That being said, it’s a bit of a different journey having to watch one or both of your parents being romantic in front of the cameras for all the world to see. While Brooks’s parents, Meredith and Seth Marks, have had their fair share of steamy moments on RHOSLC, Drayton’s rapper father didn’t hold back with the many women who pursued him on Flavor of Love‘s three seasons.

“I thought it was actually pretty cool!” Drayton said of watching the show. “Like, he’s the Black Hugh Hefner, baby! He gives me energy. I want to be like that when I grow up. As long as it’s not him and my mom — ew! I don’t want to see that! That’s nasty! — but him and all the other ladies? Go ahead, Dad!”

Watch the full episode of Growing Up Reality featuring Dazyna Drayton below:

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